


The Way It Ends (Write My Name)

by starchitect



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Betrayal, M/M, aka TWEWY but everyone has a Death Note, and by everyone I just mean Reapers/Shinigami, i'm so emo, various references to the Death Note musical, yeah it's THAT scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starchitect/pseuds/starchitect
Summary: “This is the way it ends. The fate of Shibuya is in your hands. If you want to save it, all you have to do is write my name in that Death Note.”Joshua laughs that annoying shrill laugh of his. It makes Neku sick to his stomach.“So, what’s it to be, dear partner? It’s time to decide.”He leans in close, with that smug grin that he’s worn since the day they met, and clicks the pen right in front of his face.“Write my name. I dare you.”
Relationships: Implied Joshneku
Kudos: 9





	The Way It Ends (Write My Name)

**Author's Note:**

> hiiiii  
> welcome to the AU that NO ONE asked for
> 
> so basically I've been in Death Note hell for the past month because I discovered that a musical exists (it SLAPS btw, please go listen to it) and then we got the NEO TWEWY announcement the other day and I decided to just go off the deep end and make an AU and this is the result
> 
> I hope you enjoy :V

Neku comes back to reality breathing heavily, the sound of a gunshot still ringing in his ears. Everything around him feels cloudy and fogged, like a camera out of focus. His head hurts like hell. It feels like someone dug a hammer right through his skull. He grips his head in an attempt to numb the pain.

When he opens his eyes, his vision is blurry. He blinks rapidly, trying to make things clearer. Eventually he slowly cranes his head up, and Joshua’s hazy figure stands three feet away from him.

_Joshua._

It all makes sense now. It was _him_ all along. It was Joshua who killed him. Of course it was. _Of course._ Because who else would it be, right? Neku should have known he couldn’t be trusted from the start. And yet, Joshua was so much _like_ him. It was almost disturbing. He was annoying, sure, but he was relatable. He had similar views about the world. Neku felt like he had finally found someone he could consider a friend. Maybe something even more than…

No. Don’t think about that. That’s only going to make it hurt more.

In the end, it was Joshua who murdered him in Udagawa. _Joshua._ And all so he could make Neku his proxy.

And then, _and then,_ that son of a bitch turns out to be _the Composer_ of all people. The Shinigami King. And what is his goal? To use the Death Note to destroy Shibuya for good. After everything the two of them had been through together, too. Joshua is just going to pretend like nothing ever happened and press the delete button on the entire city. 

How the hell is Neku supposed to respond to that?

“Now, Neku, why don’t we play one last Game?”

Joshua is speaking again, the bastard. What could he possibly want? After everything he’s done, he wants to play _another_ Game? He’s manipulated Neku and betrayed his trust, and he’s still not satisfied? Why does he insist on torturing him more?

“The winner gets to be the Composer and do whatever he likes with Shibuya. If you win, you decide. If I win, I’ll decide.”

So that’s what this is? A final round to determine if Shibuya is allowed to exist anymore? This feels like a trap. Why would Joshua play this card if he’s not going to benefit from it? It’s not like him to risk something so precious as his personal agenda.

By now, Neku’s eyesight has focused, and he can see that devilish smirk painted on Joshua’s face again. He’s planning something. Of _course_ he is—he’s not done using Neku as a puppet yet. He always has to have the last word.

“Of course, I’ve already decided,” Joshua continues, twirling his Death Note on one finger. “Now that Megumi is gone, my arrangement for this city will continue just the way I’ve always planned. I’ll erase everyone in Shibuya, one by one, and then I’ll erase Shibuya itself.”

He chuckles and flips through the Note absentmindedly.

“Hmm, I wonder whose name I should write down first…?”

 _“You’re a monster,”_ Neku seethes, finally finding his voice. Joshua snaps the Note shut and smiles innocently.

“Sure I am. Either way, this _will_ end here and now. One way, or another.”

And then, he hands the Note over. Neku takes it with shaky hands.

“What are you…”

“The rules of our Game are extremely simple. All you have to do is write down my name. You’ll get ten seconds. Fail, and face erasure.”

 _Is this the way it ends?_ Neku watches as Joshua summons a pen out of thin air and offers that to him too. None of this feels real anymore—how did he not see this coming?

“It’s just like a normal mission. You can do that, can’t you, Neku?”

 _“Don’t screw with me, Josh!”_ Neku growls, thrusting the Death Note into Joshua’s chest. “You can’t just ask me to commit murder!”

Joshua stumbles and looks surprised for a moment. He doesn’t bite back. Instead, he laughs and calmly pushes the Note back into Neku’s hands.

“I assure you, I’m not. I’m immortal, remember? There’s no consequence for killing me. Therefore, it can’t be considered murder.”

He’s twisting Neku’s words again. Joshua was always too good at that. Neku feels like he could break the pen in his hand if he tried hard enough. For a second, he considers actually doing it.

“Oh, before I forget,” Joshua starts again, seemingly bored waiting for Neku’s response. “I’ve collected your entry fee. You’ll need Shinigami eyes to see my name, after all. I suppose I could have told you, but where’s the fun in that?”

And then, as if to confirm his words, a name appears right above Joshua’s head. It’s messily scralwed in blood red letters, almost as if someone had written it. Still, it’s legible.

_Yoshiya Kiryu._

Neku stares at the name in shock for a moment, refusing to believe that it’s really there. He blinks several times, but the name remains. Underneath it is a mess of jumbled numbers which are constantly changing. Like a timer, except none of them are strictly counting up or down.

Neku blinks one last time to make sure he’s not hallucinating, but the name never falters. There it stays, _Yoshiya Kiryu,_ never changing, never fading. Joshua gave him Shinigami eyes. There’s no longer any doubt about that. But if he did, that can only mean one thing.

The look of realization on Neku’s face must be obvious, because Joshua suddenly bursts into a fit of giggles.

“Hahaha! Your face is priceless!”

He then takes a step forward and glances up at something invisible right above Neku’s head. The rest of his lifespan—however long it is now.

Neku doesn’t even bother to lash out when Joshua laughs again. He stands there silently, shaking with rage and gripping the pen with enough force it could snap at any second. Joshua just smiles and twirls his hair.

“Better live the other half of your remaining lifespan to the fullest. If you win, that is.”

This is what drives Neku off the edge.

 _“I can’t believe you would DO THIS!!”_ he screams, throwing the Death Note in Joshua’s face. The pen begins to crack in his other hand.

“This is _insane,_ Josh! I can’t believe I thought I—”

Neku stops himself before he can continue. He can’t say that here. He could never say that. Granted, it’s not like there was ever a time or place where he _could_ say it. Neku decided that those... _feelings_ would only get in the way. He’s since buried them and tried to pretend they didn’t exist.

“I… I trusted you,” he says instead. “Why… Why would you do this?!”

“Why? Well, that’s easy. I’m merely rectifying a mistake of mine. Shibuya was a mistake. It’s no different from erasing the wrong answer on a test.”

Joshua says it like it’s so easy. It’s _so easy_ to commit mass murder just because he can. How sick can he get?

“And as for you, you were nothing but a pawn upon a board,” he continues, twirling his hair again. “I simply let you play your part in this little game of mine. Now then…”

He scoops the Death Note off the ground and puts it in Neku’s hands one last time. Neku watches as he flips through pages and pages full of names until he finds one that’s blank.

“This is the way it ends. The fate of Shibuya is in your hands. If you want to save it, all you have to do is write my name in that Death Note.”

Joshua laughs that annoying shrill laugh of his. It makes Neku sick to his stomach.

“So, what’s it to be, dear partner? It’s time to decide.”

He leans in close, with that smug grin that he’s worn since the day they met, and clicks the pen right in front of his face.

“Write my name. I dare you.”

The Game begins.

_Ten._

He wants to. Neku wants to kill Joshua so _badly._ He wants to see him writhe in pain. It’s what the bastard deserves for everything he’s done.

_Nine._

He looks up above Joshua’s head, where his blood red name still stands. _Yoshiya Kiryu._ He picks up the pen—

_Eight._

—and writes nothing. He touches the tip to the paper, but can’t even make a single stroke.

_Seven._

This is Neku’s last chance to save Shibuya. Why isn’t he writing anything? It shouldn’t be that hard just to write a name.

_Six._

Joshua laughs. “What’s wrong, dear? Can’t you do it? Don’t you _want_ to? Don’t you want revenge for everything I’ve done to you?”

He does. Neku wants nothing more than to see Joshua suffer.

So why isn’t he writing?

_Five._

The pen’s ink is starting to bleed through the paper now. No other marks have been made. Neku grips the pen tighter.

_Four._

He can’t do it. He can’t bring his hand to write even a single character. Joshua used him from the start, and yet… Neku still wants to believe all the time they spent together wasn’t a lie.

_Three._

“Come on, Neku. Write my name. You know you want to.”

 _No._ He doesn’t. Even if he hates Joshua for what he’s done. He can’t just... _kill_ him. It’s not right.

_Two._

Maybe he’s letting his feelings get in the way again. Neku doesn’t know. All he knows is that if he kills Joshua right now, he’s no different from him. He’ll be just as much of a monster as Joshua is.

_One._

The pen clatters to the ground. Neku’s hand shakes as he watches it fall. Joshua’s name remains unwritten in the Death Note.

“Looks like I’ve won the Game.”

Time then slows down as Joshua picks up the pen. Neku tries to hand the Note back but Joshua doesn’t bother taking it. He doesn’t even turn it around before beginning to write in neat, loopy handwriting.

_Neku Sakuraba._

He makes it look so easy. Like it’s no different than taking notes for a class lecture. Neku starts to feel sick to his stomach again.

When it’s done, there’s nothing but silence. Joshua takes the Note from Neku’s hands and closes it softly. From here, it’s only a matter of time before Neku’s heart stops and he’s erased. He’ll be the first sacrifice before Shibuya’s destruction.

His life is quickly coming to an end, like a closing door. Time is running out. And when he looks up, Joshua has the nerve to look _disappointed._ Truly, genuinely disappointed. Almost like he regrets having to write down Neku’s name, but Neku knows he doesn’t. This is what he wanted from the start. Not once was he ever really concerned about Neku. If anything, it’s probably a good thing he’s about to be erased, if only so he doesn’t have to deal with Joshua anymore. No Joshua, no strange feelings...no worries.

And yet… As Neku’s heart stops and he collapses, he thinks about Joshua and the time they’ve spent togther. And he wishes he had a minute more.

**Author's Note:**

> There are,,,,, SO many lyrical references to [The Way It Ends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD9jf4YnwAw) from the Death Note musical it's actually a joke. That song makes me so emo and it's already my favorite track but I realized that it actually has strong Joshneku vibes so like. here we are lmao
> 
> ANYWAY, I've been yelling about this AU on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/starrytect) for the past week, go check it out :V


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